Best Actor

News Nuggets: Woody Allen to star in John Turturro comedy

Woody Allen in talks to star in John Turturro‘s upcoming comedy: “The avuncular director is in talks to join John Turturro’s indie comedy, ‘Fading Gigolo.’ This is stunning news for Allen aficanados; the director hasn’t taken an acting gig in someone else’s movie in over a decade. The film itself harkens back to surreal 80s-style Woody, which imagines Turturro and Allen as penniless besties who hatch a scheme to break into the gigolo industry in order to cause a stir in their Hasidic Jewish neighborhood.” MOVIEFONE

Songwriters Hall of Fame honors Bette Midler: “Grammy Award winner Bette Midler will receive the Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award at the 43rd Songwriters Hall of Fame induction ceremony on June 14 in Manhattan. The annual honor is presented to ‘industry veterans who are acknowledged as pioneers in their craft, whose body of work over time has been substantial, enduring and influential, and whose success and contributions over a lifetime have inspired the music community.'” PLAYBILL

Did the best films win Oscars 20 years ago? “The 3rd annual 20/20 Awards were announced recently, honoring the best films of 1991 after two decades worth of distance and hindsight. Great idea — even though the event turned out just about as anticlimactically as this year’s real thing. That’s what happens when Oscar apparently gets it right. To wit, ‘The Silence of the Lambs’ once again swept the major categories of Best Picture, Director, Actor, Actress and Screenplay (Adapted), claiming five ‘Felixes’ on the night and leading the way among an unprecedented eight ‘Odd Couples’ to win both Oscars and Felixes.” MOVIELINE

Additional titles added to Tribeca Film Festival lineup: “The Tribeca Film Festival announced its Spotlight and Cinemania programs today, including Morgan Spurlock’s latest documentary, ‘Mansome,’ period drama ‘Cheerful Weather for the Wedding’ with ‘Like Crazy’s’ Felicity Jones, and ‘Struck By Lightning,’ written by ‘Glee‘s’ Chris Colfer. ‘It was important that we head into Tribeca’s second decade highlighting projects that were attuned to the pulse of our cultural climate,’ said director of programming Genna Terranova, in a release.” EW.COM

Indiewire makes its Cannes Film Festival wish list: “Indiewire’s annual Cannes wish list isn’t so much about officially predicting the lineup, but rather is a roster of films we hope are finished in time, good enough and invited to the Croisette (though we do muse about what’s more likely than others). Among the candidates are celebrated filmmakers like Woody Allen, Paul Thomas Anderson, Olivier Assayas, Jacques Audiard, David Cronenberg, Xavier Dolan, Matteo Garrone, Wong Kar-Wai, Ken Loach, Terrence Malick, Cristian Mungiu, Francois Ozon and Walter Salles.” INDIEWIRE

“Lincoln” tops Jeff Well‘s list of possible 2012 Oscar contenders: “The usual Spielberg-kowtow instinct (i.e., to show obeisance before power) plus the impact of Daniel Day-Lewis‘s lead performance plus the instinct to show respect and allegiance for the legend of Abraham Lincoln. Classic historical chops. Will Spielberg try to hold back on his usual instincts? He may, I think, because of the Lewis influence.” HOLLYWOOD ELSEWHERE